Yale in 13th After Day One of NCAA Regionals

Sam Bernstein. (photo by DSPics.com)

May 19, 2011

BLACKSBURG, Va. – The Yale men's team battled through the first round of the NCAA Virginia Tech Regional to finish Thursday in 13th place, a result that testified to the difficulty of Pete Dye-designed River Course in Blacksburg, Va..

Georgia Tech leads the field with an overall team score of 289 (+1); the Elis notched up an overall team score of 313 (+25), achieving a first round placing equal to their initial seeding for the competition, which they automatically qualified for after clinching the Ivy League Championship last month.

Still, the Bulldogs were not without some strong individual performances. The perennial performer, senior captain Thomas McCarthy, led the way with a first round 75 (+3), which put him in contention at a tie for 27th at the end of Thursday.

Close behind was sophomore Bradley Kushner, who built on his first-team All-Ivy performance last month on Thursday to shoot 76 (+4), a score worth a tie for 36th place. Freshman Sam Bernstein, meanwhile, also showed glimpses of the skill that won him the Ivy League's Rookie of the Year Award, firing a 79 (+7) to end the day in a tie for 59th place.

It was a tough day out on the links, however, for junior Jeffrey Hatten, who was recently elected as the Bulldogs' captain for next year, and senior Michael Fader. Hatten finished at 83 (+11) while Fader ended play at 89 (+17) – both have the potential to improve and will look to move up the leaderboard in the next two day's play.

Competition will continue Friday morning, with the first tee times slated for 8 a.m.